Stella Blue is anchored off the beach at Chat N Chill once again. It took us 7 months and ~3000 miles to wind up back here and we keep asking ourselves why we ever left. Fresh conch, neon water, white beaches, and friends in every direction not only make this place oodles of fun, but it also feels like home.
We left Luperón with 13 knots on the beam, sunny skies and a fleet of 20-30 dolphins playing at our bow. The crew was all smiles as we sailed away from the Dominican Republic toward the Bahamas. But then the wind picked up a bit, then a bit more, then it backed from east to northeast putting us on a close reach. Tristan was at the helm monitoring the route wondering why our demeanor had shifted from “this is the LIFE” to “hmm….” Then it really blew. When I took the helm, we saw 30 knots and had to bear away to a beam reach to make the ride more comfortable. No more autopilot, no more dolphins, no more sun – we all settled in for a long night.
Stella Blue powered through the wind and seas until we finally hit some moderate trades around 2am. As the sun came up we sailed past West Caicos and said goodbye to our friends on Knot Yet. One night down, two to go until we would reach Georgetown. The rest of the passage was absolutely perfect. We had light/moderate trades from aft of the beam all the way across those “Far Out” Bahamas. Taking the helm for a three hour shift meant getting some sun (or some full moon) and watching Otto keep the course. We sailed into Elizabeth Harbor just after sunrise on Sunday morning, dropped the hook and gawked at the water. We’re back baby!!!
Last summer we spent about 2 and a half months living here in Georgetown, so we know the ropes pretty well. But the difference between summer Georgetown and winter Georgetown is about 200 boats. There are people everywhere! We probably talked to more people on Monday than we have in the past month – and lots of them were people we knew! We said hi to Sheldon at Chat N Chill, hi to Mrs. Lee at the Corner Laundromat, hi to Crystal at Two Turtles, and hi to Salty Dave (aka Grizzly). And THEN there are our cruiser friends! We finally met up with Brisa (a fellow Salty Dawg), we saw Oh My! from last year at Staniel Cay, we found Randy on Kataboo – friends everywhere! The only thing this place is missing is our dear friends Craig and Vicki on Wings. It just isn’t the same without them. We cannot wait to see them when we get back to Florida.
Tristan left for Texas yesterday and once again we find ourselves missing our guests as soon as they leave us for hot showers and air conditioning. His visit was less about vacation and more focused on learning to crew a sailboat for a multi day passage, but we still had a hell of a good time. We made him work before we played in paradise.
Today is busy with chores as we prepare for our next guests! Taylor and Jenny arrive in 24 hours for a little Bahamian bash.
Eileen Quinn, Company’s Coming
Y’all sure are tan! Hope you are using some sunscreen! Glad y’all are having fun and almost back to the states! Your friends here miss you too!
Just a few hundred more miles…. Can’t wait to see ya!
Take LOTS of pictures while Tay and Jen are there!! I am anxious to see your next post!! They have been SO excited about this trip.
We took SO many pictures, it was hard to pick the blog worthy ones!
Hey Guys…..We miss you tooooo! Wish we were at Chat n’ Chill drinking beverages and talking smart !!! If you can, please pick up a couple of Chat n Chill beer bottle cozies…….we lost ours……actually didn’t loose them, but left them on the boat. We’re up in Missouri now and heading slowly up to Duluth, the coast guard and several marinas on Lake Superior are sponsoring a safety seminar and asked me to speak……..and they are paying the freight to get us there. Keep us posted as the where you are and will hunt you down. When you get back to the states, send me a good phone number…..
As always
Craig & Vicki
Speaking at seminars?! Cool!! Of course we will get ahold of you guys once we get back stateside, and we will definitely come bearing koozies 🙂